"Enter." A thick accent called out to Reinhard as he opened the door seeing Dimitri sitting alone, reading a small book. Closing it he squinted his eyes for a couple of seconds trying to figure out who ca to see him, but eventually realized and stood up giving a small bow.
"I greet the Slathan Prince." Reinhard smiled and waved it off taking a seat.
"There is no need. You are many years my senior and right now we both have the sa role." Dimitri smiled and sat waiting for the young man to start. "Can I assu you have t the Emporer? What do you make of him?"
Dimitri smirked and looked out the window. He could see Brookhaven’s towering walls in the distance. "He is a scary man." Reinhard thinly smiled.
"I an he may have committed a purge but so what? My father has as well as his before him."
With a shake of the head, Reinhard felt more confused as Dimitri leaned in. "Maybe your father committed them, but as a twelve-year-old boy. That’s a scary thing in its own right but not what I was referencing. He killed many nobles, and took their wealth and children, turning what remained of those families, brainwashing them into a loyal fighting force."
"What?" Reinhard’s eyes opened in shock hearing information he had never heard before.
"Those called the Unyeilding are made up of children trained from a young age to believe in only loyalty towards the Emporer. Tell , could your father do sothing like that?"
Reinhard closed his eyes and eventually nodded. "He could. If it served a purpose. I don’t doubt anything he could do."
"And that’s the thing. He did it with a purpose. To create a balance between the new power he created in his purge. Solidifying the military under his lone control he split power three ways, never letting one faction within it have too much power. All while still being a child. Then he created an education system to replace those he had killed so the power vacuum wouldn’t last too long. So when I say he is a scary man, I an it."
"So you fear him because he is smart." Reinhard reminded himself to send word back to his father as soon as he could about the information he collected. Whilst he knew Vladmire had allied themselves to Alfred, Dimitri was still an outside source. He could be trusted better than those of the Empire.
Despite that Dimirtir shook his head to Reinhards reply once again. "No. It’s wise to be cautious when dealing with soone smart, but eventually, they get arrogant and slip up. What I fear is the reason he does these things. Part of him does it because, in his own way, it was the natural process to protect the Empire from rebellion, but it wasn’t the main reason. All acts he takes are simply so he can wield more power. His ambition is sothing few n can have."
"So is that why Grand Prince Alexei sided with him?"
"It’s why Prince Ivan did." Dimitri made sure to correct Reinhard. "My cousin knows he won’t sit on the throne for long and has left the future to his son. Ivan and the Emporer are similar people in what they want and instead of destroying each other, he decided to carve the future with Alfred instead."
"And you agree with the Prince?"
"It doesn’t matter what I think. I am a loyal servant, I do what I am told."
"That’s not what I want to hear." Reinhard leaned in. "Do you honestly believe that siding with the Empire is the best course of action?"
Dimitri could see that Reinhard was at a crossroads. His loyalty to his ho and trying to find the best course of action in dealing with the foreign powers they had been forced to side with. "I saw sothing." He started having Reinhard’s full attention, "Sothing that felt impossible yet simple. They call him Blessed One but at the ti I never believed it ant anything, only being a fancy title the church hands out."
"Before I told my cousin to keep at arms reach of the Empire. Side with them until it is no longer necessary. But now I’m not sure. As things are now, I don’t see our two nations losing, on any front. Be it warfare or diplomacy."
"What was it?" Reinhard asked interested in maybe finding sothing he could send back ho for his father. His intentions were obvious and caused Dimitri to laugh.
"It’s not my place. All I’ll say is the Emporer sees further into the future than we think. Education reforms, and getting his people to learn to read, it was all planned. Read a copy of The Ammary Future. You will understand what he wanted. If he could plan for this then I dread to think what else he can do."
Dmitri looked back to the ti he saw the printing press and the thoughts that had run through his mind. It was so simple and yet Alfred had shown a glimpse of how far his vision was for his Empire. Things like teaching his people seed outrageous and dangerous when he first learned of it, but it was all planned. Teach them and then shackle them with a new belief.
He could see it. When the Empire eventually conquered the Commonwealth. The people being taught how to read so they could consu the narrative the Empire wanted. Taught to love the invader and despise the old way of life.
Dimitri shivered slightly at the thought. How far had things been planned? The Safrid land was a testing ground. If it proved to work then what would stop Alfred from seeing the rest of his ambition through?
Reinhard could see it in Dimitri. The man was scared. Scared by the person known as Alfred. It only made him more interested in what he had seen and put together. ’I need a copy of the Ammary Future. I need to know.’
Getting up Reinhard smiled. "Sorry for bothering you and thank you."
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Reinhard looked at the paper in his hands with a twitching smile. It was easy to acquire a copy of The Ammary Future, it being sold on nearly every street.
’We are all one united body. We work for one another, protect one another, and teach one another. No one is worthless in the Empire, and we all owe it to the civility of the Ammary people. Our way of life and culture. We are the beacon of morality and justice. We do not falter. We do not kneel. We stand strong.’
’Glory to the Empire, Glory to the Ammary People. Glory to Emporer. May he forever guide us.’
Reinhard put down the paper reading the final lines as he realized what Dimitri ant. It was obvious to anyone reading it. Taught to believe what the Emporer wanted. "You said they were selling multiple copies of this."
The servant nodded as Reinhard leaned back looking at the paper. Taking the second copy his servant bought he could see every word was a copy, not a single letter written differently. It should have been impossible. Not a single mistake in either copy and from the words of his servant there were many more on sale.
"He has a way to mass produce them." Reinhard connected the dots. It was the only possible way. The writing was too similar to be different people creating each piece and the output was sothing only possible if a way without writing by hand was made. Chuckling he shook his head. "A scary man indeed."
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